The Castaway
by hailtheheartbreakers
Summary: This is the story of Runa and Corriam. Characters from High Rhulain.
1. Chapter 1

The Castaway

**The Castaway**

**Chapter 1**

_I was flying. The sea was far below me and the clouds drifting above me looked close enough to touch. Looking back down at the sea, I saw that I was almost directly above a mysterious black dot a short ways off the coastline that I was flying parallel to. Curious, I decided to investigate. _

_As I drew closer, I could see that the black dot was in fact two ships. The sound of battle drifted towards me and I felt an inexplicable fear. I could almost see the beasts fighting on the ship. If I could just get a little closer... There! They were_

"Runa get up"

Moaning, I, Runa Mossguard the morningbeast, opened my eyes to see the treacherously bright eyes of my identical twin sister, Tera.

"Ugh." I moaned. "Why did you wake me up? I was dreaming about flying."

"Again?" She asked rolling her eyes. "Runa, you are an otter. You should be dreaming about swimming not flying."

"But I love these dreams!"

"So stop loving them!"

There was a moment's pause when we glared into each other's eyes. She looked down first. She always did.

That is how I interacted with my sister. We always have, for as long as I can remember. I was the younger of the two of us, the fighter. I was the headstrong, rough, plain sister. And Tera? She was dainty and delicate. The flower of the holt. In a war, I would cause wounds and she would heal them.

"Anyway" She said. "Father says I am to take you to the beach with me. We can gather some pretty rocks to make necklaces with!"

I said nothing but made a face as I pulled on my tunic. After belting my sling around my waist and picking up my dagger, I turned around and forced a smile. Even with all of our differences, Tera was still my sister, and I wanted her too be happy. At least I did until she opened her mouth again.

"Do you really think that you will need weapons at the beach?" She said obnoxiously. "I don't think the shrimp will attack us."

"Oh, really?" I said. "Well maybe not shrimp, but I'd say that pirates and corsairs are definitely in the threat department."

I watched as my sister paled. "There aren't any pirates around anymore."

"Then what happened to Mum?" I shot back.

Right after the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

"Oh Tera, I didn't mean it." I comforted my now crying twin.

"Yes you did." She protested. "But you were right."

"I..."

"No, bring the weapons. I don't mind." Her voice was still slightly choked with tears but was swiftly returning to normal.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. End of discussion."

"Thank you"

"Didn't I just say end of discussion?"

* * *

As we walked out of the holt, I saw that we were to join a group of my sister's friends. I groaned inwardly. All these otters cared about was males and jewellery.

"Hi Tera!" One of them called.

"Hi girls" She replied. "My father says that we have to bring Runa."

One member of the group started to groan but stopped immediately when she saw the fierce glare that my sister was giving her.

"Hey Runa!" One of them whispered urgently. "Strom is looking at you!"

"No he's probably just looking at Tera, he's been after her for seasons."

When I said that, all of Tera's friends turned to look at me. Tera herself gave me a strange look.

"What makes you say that" She asked.

"He always asks me about you." I explained briskly. "Anyway, shouldn't we leave now."

Without waiting for a response, I strode off in the general direction of the beaches. It was about a half day walk from our holt to the sea. While Tera and her friends chatted and gossiped, I was walking behind them with a loaded sling, my alert and listening for any disruption in the peaceful sounds of the forest.

Finally, after hours of walking, we reached the beach. One of other otters produced a basket I hadn't noticed before. From the basket, she started pulling a blanket, food and drink.

While the other girls were hungrily swooping down on the meal, Tera and I walked down to a large rock on the shoreline.

"I missed this rock." I said. I was sitting on the large rock with my twin beside me.

"Me too." She agreed. "Do you remember the time Mum brought us down here to gather shrimp and we hid from her behind it?"

"Yeah, I had almost forgotten about that."

"How old were we? Six seasons?"

"It was ten seasons ago, so that sounds about right."

We lapsed into pleasant silence, each with our own thoughts. Silence, at least until a piercing scream ripped through the cool sea air.

Leaping down from the rock, Tera and I saw her group of friends tearing down the beach towards us.

"What happened? What's going on?" My sister asked.

"There, there, there's a DEAD BODY on the beach!" One of them managed to get out.

As soon as I heard her say that I took off sprinting down the beach. My sister looked at her sobbing friends and raced after me. However, I wasn't the holt's champion runner for nothing, and I beat her to the body by at least a minute.

He was an otter. The scars and fresh cuts on his body suggested that he was a fighter. However the strangest thing about him was the wonderful, well made, broken lance that he held clutched in his hands. Around one of his arms was an exquisite circlet of gold with a glorious emerald stone in the center.

Hearing my sister arrive beside me, but not taking my eyes off the otter before me, I reached down to see if I could remove the broken lance from his paws. I jumped and heard my sister gasp when he moaned and clutched the lance and circlet closer to him.

"He's alive." My sister breathed.

"Yes." I agreed. "We need to get him back to the holt. You're a healer, can he be moved?"

"He can be moved, but we have to be very careful. I don't know if he has a head injury."

"OK, I'll take his head."

Together with my sister, I managed to half carry, half drag this mysterious otter to our holt without much trouble. I wish I could say the same for when we got there.

* * *

Standing outside the holt, arms crossed and scowling, was our father, Alem Mossguard, Chieftain of the Mossguard otters.

"I suppose that this is the dead otter that your friends told me about." He said.

"He's not dead!" I protested. "And they aren't my friends." I added under my breath.

"I guessed that when I saw you dragging him through the forest. Tera, I thought that you had better sense then to let your sister drag home strays."

"Hey!" I exclaimed.

"But Daddy, I am also a healer. I need to help wounded beasts." My sister explained, totally ignoring his jab at me.

"YOU want to heal him!" Our father exclaimed. "Why not one of the other healers?"

"Because I am the best." Tera said shortly.

"But..." My father started.

"Oh why am I standing here? This otter is dying!" With that I started dragging the otter to the healer's chamber."

"Wait Runa!" My sister cried, following me. She picked up the otter's feet.

* * *

I helped Tera to settle the mysterious otter into a bed in the healer's chamber and collapsed into a chair. I had carried him most of the way to the holt and, even though he appeared to be in good shape, he was not light.

"You can sleep in that bunk over there. You must be exhausted." Tera said without turning around. "And before you protest, he is going to be fine. His wounds aren't as bad as they look."

Without saying a word I climbed over to the small bed meant for healers that had to stay with their patients, closed my eyes and let sleep overtake me.

* * *

**A/N OK so this is the first chapter of The Castaway. It will probably have about 7-10 chapters. I would really like you to point out any mistakes or poor writing Because I am planning on redoing this later. Oh, and chapters for this will not be very close together. Thank you for actually bothering to read my A/N. **


	2. Chapter 2

My dreams weren't happy. They were full of poison and flames, so different from the flying dream of the night before. I was standing on a wooden floor that was rocking wildly. It took me a few moments to realize that I was on a ship. But there was something wrong. The ship was burning, and the beasts around me were fighting furiously. Instinctively I drew my dagger. I turned around and saw the horrible gleam of light on fangs, a drawn sword glistening with blood and a huge dark shadow rearing up above me. The sword was drawn back and plunged into my chest. I felt an explosion of pain then a strange numb feeling. Just as the blackness that was creeping into my vision overcame me, I found myself staring at the ceiling of the healer's chamber.

Abruptly I sat up. Looking across the room I could see that the strange otter that we had rescued the day before was twitching slightly in his sleep. I decided that I had slept enough and would walk down to the River Moss for a swim.

When I reached the river I saw that my childhood friend Strom was already there. He was sitting on a fallen tree by the water's edge. Strom was a tall, strong otter, and often came up in the shallow conversations of Tera and her friends. However, I had known him since we were kits, and did not think of him the same way they did. To me he was a training buddy, and someone to run to when Father wanted me to put a dress on for visitors. He was also the only one in the holt who knew I could do a triple back flip off the tree stump he was sitting on.

"If you aren't getting in, at least get off the good jumping tree." I said striding out of the forest.

Strom jumped high into the air.

"Oh. Runa! I didn't see you there." He gasped.

"Obviously." I said. "I think that I am finally better at moving silently than you!"

"No way! My skills of stealth are way more advanced than yours!"

"Fine then, prove it." I said stepping away from the tree. "Walk over hear as quietly as you can."

"Don't you worry. You won't hear my footsteps at all." Strom said with an evil look in his eye.

"Strom?"

Without responding he leapt up from the fallen tree and charged towards me, tackling me into the stream. It is lucky that I am an otter, for he held me under the water for a very long time. I, in turn, retaliated by pulling on his ear until he let go.

"Ow, ow, ow! That was uncalled for!" Strom whined, holding onto his ear.

"That's what you get for tackling me." I replied primly. Then I tackled him.

We wrestled in the stream until we were both out of breath and exhausted. He had won but I had gotten a few good shots in. I was about to comment on how if I had actually been trying, I could of beaten him easily, when he said something unexpected.

"Did you really bring a dead otter to the holt last night?" Strom asked suddenly.

"No!" I exclaimed. "He was wounded. Me and Tera found him at the beach."

"What did your pa say?"

"Just what you'd expect him to. He yelled a little and eventually I just grabbed the otter and dragged him to the healers."

"Have you talked to him since?" Strom asked with laughter in his voice.

"Um, no." I replied. "But I don't want to! What kind of beast would refuse to help an injured creature? That poor otter would have died if we hadn't found him, and Father Dear wanted to just abandon him!"

"I heard that he threw a fit when he heard that Tera wanted to heal him."

"Yeah. Speaking of Tera I should go check if there has been any change in the otter's health."

"Bye Runa"

"See ya, Strom"

As I was walking away I could have sworn that I heard Strom sigh.

* * *

When I got back to the holt, I saw that the clearing around it, that should of been full of kits playing, was suspiciously empty. A few more steps told me why.

An acrid stench and a thin trail of black oily smoke poured from the entrance to the healer's chamber. With one hand, I lifted the collar of my tunic to cover my nose and drew my dagger with the other. Cautiously, I crept through the entrance of the chamber. I was met with a strange sight: My sister was kneeling by the bed of our rescued otter and holding burning feathers by his nose.

"What are you doing?" I cried.

"Waking him up." She replied calmly.

"By making him smell something bad?"

"Yes. It shocks his system into waking up."

"It doesn't seem to be working."

"I can see that!" My beloved twin snapped.

"Why don't you just do this?"

And without asking permission, I stepped forward, grabbed the otter's ear and screamed into it as loud as I could. He sat up so was that his head smashed into mine. The loud CRACK caused by our craniums colliding made my sister jump into action.

Completely ignoring me and my aching head, she kneeled beside the bed and started caring for the moaning otter that had once again collapsed on the bed.

"Are you alright? What hurts?" She asked franticly. The otter pointed to his head.

"Your head?" She asked. "Oh, that's no problem. I'll just make you a healing salve for the bruise."

Tera immediately thrust a mortar and pestle, small knife and bunch of lush green leaves at me.

"Chop the leaves, then grind them together in the mortar and pestle." My sister ordered.

As she busied herself with other medicines, the lecture began.

"What was going through your head that made you want to do this? He is an injured otter! He doesn't need to be shouted at and scared! Look at him, he hasn't moved or spoken since you performed you brilliant wake up plan!"

At this moment I looked over at the furry brown form sitting on the bed. Indeed, he hadn't moved. But Tera wasn't going to know that I agreed with her.

"He's a warrior, like me! He isn't scared of a little screaming." I protested.

"You are not a warrior Runa! You train with the warriors, yes, but you are not a warrior."

"I can fight just as well as any of them! How am I not a warrior?"

"You're a female!"

The moment she said that I froze. Those three words were probably my least favourite words I know.

"Now you sound like Father." I said coldly, and ran out the door.

The eyes of the strange otter followed me out of the room.

* * *

**A/N Thank you to everyone who read my story. I have 29 hits and two reviews in less then a week so I am over the moon. Thank you to warrior4 and avatargirl4eva for being those reviewers. I know that this chapter is three hundred words shorter then the last one but I thought that this is a good place to end it. I promise that the next chapter will be longer. **


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